Many developing countries find it helpful to group target issues together and to then cluster key capacities within one roof or in other words, within a country's buildings. These developing nations also provide centralized, directed, comprehensive leadership and planning for public health within a country. This would include setting up goals and targets, gathering data, analyzing and synthesizing that data, communicating the analysis to decision makers, developing plans, executing plans, monitoring the implementation of those plans, providing support to the facilities, people and other equipment, and ensuring that the entire system runs smoothly. The systems should be able to function in a sustainable manner. Some of these developing nations have made good use of the concept of public health education and promotion.
Public health institutes
In some developing countries, public health institutes conduct public education programs and seminars. The program evaluation is done to identify what needs to be improved, how to implement changes and that changes should be introduced. Public health impact assessments are also conducted by the institutes. The assessment helps in deciding whether the changes are needed and appropriate to the particular context.
There are many organizations that provide training in public health. The most prominent of these is the National Health Services (NHS) in Britain. In the United States, the National Institutes of Health, a private non-profit organization, also conducts similar training. The United Nations World Health Organization, WHO, an international agency has developed a series of guidelines and publications on the subject. All these organizations have created a national network.
The national public health institutes also coordinate with other government agencies, other non-profit organizations, and concerned stake-holders. One such organization is the World Health Organization. It coordinates efforts with national governments, regional organizations, advocacy groups, media professionals, families and the concerned local communities. The institute develops standards for surveillance, diagnosis, referral, services and utilization of the resources developed within its mandate. It takes on the responsibility of ensuring that all aspects of the public health are addressed.
There are many other organizations and institutions which come under the remit of the national public health institute. These include organizations involved in the field of community development, rural development, economic and social development, environment management, epidemiology, nutrition, housing and food programs, and population management. These institutes conduct research and teach courses related to all these areas. A small number of institutions offer specialization in certain areas.
Within the remit of the national health institute, there are numerous government agencies which have their activities affecting public health. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the manufacture, distribution, and sale of food and drugs and sets standards of consumer protection. The Public Health Service (PHS) is an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, responsible for the overall management of public health programs. The Consumer Product and Safety Commission regulate cosmetics, medical devices, personal care products and tobacco.
Some of the other institutions regulating health services are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Some of the public health institutes are associated with the colleges and universities, while others are associated with vocational training institutions. They impart special education and training in the various sectors concerned. Normally, these institutions impart specialized training in the public health sector in various topics such as nutrition, occupational health, family planning, and infectious diseases. They also conduct special course in management in different sectors. These courses are cross-listed with other institutions, both nationally and internationally.
There are many private institutes that provide special training in public health institutes. A few of the institutes providing special education and training in the public health departments include the George Warren School of Public Health at Harvard University and the John Hopkins University. Grants are provided by the federal government, state governments, hospitals, corporations, non-profit organizations, and individuals to increase awareness on various public health issues. These grants are dispersed among the population health projects, population control programs, family planning programs, and community health programs.